In remembrance of Mrs. J, Toronto's eyewear maven

Remembered as a matriarch of the optical industry and the first lady of fashion in eyewear in Canada, Merryl Josephson Conway, who died last Friday at the age of 90, had large eyes that she wore both wide and narrow. That would depend on whether she was going for sly comedic effect or simply using them to look right through you.

A rare combination of charm, curiosity and acumen, Josephson Conway brought all her savvy to the role of Mrs. J.
Mr. J was David Josephson, who in 1935, founded Josephson Opticians, which, now run by their son Josh, has six locations and remains synonymous with specs in the latest styles.
But it was Mr. and Mrs. J who let the town know that even eyeglasses came in such a thing as the latest style. He, an optometrist with a specialty in contact lenses and a taste for change, and she, who had helped manage some of her father's commercial properties and had been a publicist for Warner Brothers – helped transform instruments of vision into accessories.

When David Josephson passed away in 1985, Merryl Josephson, who later married Hilliard Conway, a successful businessman and old family friend, took over the reins.
It was around that time that I first met Mrs. J. I was reporting on fashion and she was eager to let me in on Alain Mikli, the hottest name in eyewear design.
I had never heard of him and was glad to learn. But the real education was Merryl Josephson herself, a lesson in them there eyes, those lashes, that flirtatious enthusiasm that always made it seem it was you who had something to teach.
"So tell me what's new?" was a favourite expression, recalls Amin Mamdani, director of operations with Josephson Opticians. From the day he started in the eyewear industry in 1988, working for a competitor, he knew "Mrs. J was a force to be reckoned with."

But an enterprising woman of affairs, who always took in the big picture, Josephson Conway was never afraid of playing with the big boys. She sometimes tried to pass herself off as practical and realistic, but she possessed a performer's flair. It's not surprising that a formative influence was her great-aunt Ray Lewis.

Also blessed with eyes that could expand with wonder and a pretty mouth that could curl up at the corners like a satisfied cat's, Lewis was part of a vaudeville act, a published poet, and a showbiz insider. The editor of the Canadian Moving Picture Digest from 1918 to 1954 and at one time co-owner of a College St. movie house that was called the Pylon (now known as the Royal), Lewis was also bold and independent, an early champion of more Canadian movies on Canadian screens.

Likewise, Merryl Josephson Conway had pluck. "She was a great lady," remembers Mel Rapp, proprietor of Rapp Optical and another devotee of stylish eyewear. Rapp used to work for Josephson Opticians in the '80s.
He remembers a day when, 15 minutes before closing, Mrs. J phoned to say she was coming to the store (one that used to be at Yonge and Eglinton) with a new rug. When she arrived, she was carting what must have been a 12-foot-long roll of carpet, with an alligator handbag slung over her shoulder, stylish but matter-of-fact about it.